Being Mayor of London would be a fantastic job and anyone who loves London would want to consider the possibility very carefully. I want to stress that this idea did not come from David Cameron or from anyone in his office but I have, of course, been very struck by the number of people who have been urging me to run. In my case, there are huge obstacles – above all my commitment and responsibility to my constituency. It is hard to see how those difficulties could be overcome - but I am ruling nothing out.

Transport hell - Interesting letter in the Times about TfL rising to the challenge of major events which end late at night in London, quoted in full below:

Sir, I offer advance warning for anyone going to the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, as I foresee that Transport for London will expect everyone to walk home.

On Sunday night getting home after the Concert for Diana was a joke. Underground trains were terminated at Baker Street and Green Park rather than running at least to Waterloo; the Victoria Line was suspended all day because of planned engineering works; and TfL ran a Sunday service.

The only announcements we heard at Green Park were that there were no westbound trains to Heathrow so passengers should “continue their journey at street level”. TfL staff were conspicuous by their absence. In the end we were forced to get a taxi home.

Heaven knows what will happen when London stages the Olympics but unless TfL gets its act together, I suggest the British people stay at home and watch the action on TV.

"A London Underground train derailed during the morning rush hour, causing minor injuries to 37 passengers, when the driver hit the brakes to avoid debris on the tracks. British Transport Police ruled out any link to terrorism.

"The derailment took place at about 9 a.m. today in a Central Line tunnel between Mile End and Bethnal Green stations, the railway said in an e-mailed statement. The line will remain suspended between Liverpool Street and Leytonstone stations for the rest of the day. The London Ambulance Service took 11 people to the hospital, a spokeswoman said.

"Some 900 passengers were stranded for as long as two hours on the derailed train and another that stalled behind it, before being led out of the tunnel. London Underground, which carries 3 million passengers a day, said the driver braked to avoid debris that may have been left from repair work the night before by contractor Metronet Rail."
[from Bloomberg]

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